Winds of Destiny
by RonnyBravo the Breadghost
Summary: Two years after the dark times when the gods were kidnapped, the young demigod, Zephynn, is sent on a quest by his family, otherwise known as the four wind gods, to prove himself and become a wielder of all four winds. However, this quest will send him into an even greater struggle than he faced in his previous journey... Warning: This is a very, very OC-centric fic.
1. A Wind of Change

Chapter 1: A Wind of Change

Temphoros slashed through the last of a group of Miks. Zephynn lied back on the ground in exhaustion. This was the first monster outbreak near the temple in the last year. He didn't understand. All of the monsters should have vanished after… he shook the thoughts out of his head. He didn't want to remember that terrifying journey.

His memories always seemed to go back to it though. The people he'd met, the trials he'd faced… It had changed him. He wasn't a coward any longer. He had toughened up. But that was nearly two years ago now. Darkness had passed. Yet still monsters continued to terrorize the land, though less concentrated than before. He'd heard rumors from the winds that being a mercenary was now one of the most high-paying jobs in the land; usually the monsters that did appear were rather powerful. He could only imagine how much the Dark Alliance was making nowadays. He felt lucky that this had only been a few rogue and weak monsters.

He sheathed Temphoros and began the short trek back to the temple. After his mother had removed his immortality, she had made him promise to not stray too far from the temple. He had complied. He still didn't mind having to stay in one place. There was plenty of excitement around with all of the monster attacks anyways. And Vinnia would visit every once and a while as well. Her village wasn't far off.

He walked down the path leading into the temple grounds. A welcoming west wind blew past him and he smiled. The temple was a safe haven. As he walked up to the temple entrance, he saw that his mother, Phyra, goddess of the west wind, was waiting for him. Her hair was light brown, and her eyes were a stunning sky blue, the same as his own. She wore her typical outfit, a white dress with blue wind patterns on the sleeves that gave her the appearance of floating.

"_That's strange,_" he thought, "_I thought she was off doing business with the others._" By the others he meant the other three wind gods, Boreas, Europa, and Norulus. He cursed the last name on the inside. The south wind god had betrayed the others during the battle against darkness. The other gods had placed him under house arrest after that time of darkness.

"Come in my son," she said to him as he came within speaking distance.

"Back so soon?" Zephynn asked as he approached.

"We're still in progress," said Phyra. Zephynn gazed at her suspiciously. Why would they possibly want to meet in the West Wind Temple? And why did they want to involve him?

"All will be explained," she said, putting an arm around him gently as they walked inside. As Zephynn walked inside, he saw three more faces. Boreas, Europa and Norulus were all present. Norulus glared at him from the shadows. Zephynn glared right back but his mother squeezed his shoulder and he calmed down. Boreas wore a long blue robe that flowed just as Phyra's dress did. His white beard did the same. An icy blue crown covered his head. Europa wore an outfit similar to Phyra's, but it had red wind patterns instead of blue. Her hair was blonde rather than brown. Her eyes were blue and staring sharply at Zephynn.

Norulus's robe was cobalt blue and was very similar in appearance to Boreas's. He just looked a lot older than when Zephynn had last seen him, which was saying a lot. Maybe he was reflecting his condition in his appearance.

"Well met young Zephynn," said Boreas.

"He's not all that young," said Europa.

"Be quiet Europa!" Boreas said, "502 is not that old."

"For a god maybe…" Europa mumbled. Zephynn rolled his eyes. Europa would try to insult him at every corner as a way of getting at Phyra.

"At any rate, I bet you're wondering why we let you in," said Boreas, getting back to the subject. Zephynn nodded slowly, noticing that his mother was shaking a little. He put a hand on the hand that was on his shoulder. She calmed down a little. He realized that this must be something big.

"Well, we've decided on something about you," said Boreas, "We feel that you need to become stronger."

"So?" Zephynn said raising an eyebrow.

"So," Phyra continued for Boreas, taking a deep breath, "We've decided that we're going to send you on a quest."

"A quest?" Zephynn said, a degree of shock in his voice that those words were coming out of his overprotective mother's mouth.

"Yes, a quest," said Europa, "What, are you deaf or something?" Zephynn shot her a nasty look. He then spoke to Boreas.

"What quest is this?" asked Zephynn curiously. Boreas nodded to Phyra, who reluctantly walked forward to her kin. She looked to the ceiling.

"This quest is a test," said Phyra, "Boreas has told me several times that he believes you need to become a true warrior. A true warrior has several resources to pull from." Zephynn looked down at his sword and clutched the neck of his cloak, which he had worn ever since he had received it in the North Wind Temple two years before as a gift. It was the only one that had survived the time of darkness. The others had been lost in battle. Raven had given hers back.

He shook memories out of his head and further looked down on his finger. On it was a ring, an endless reservoir of western wind. His mother had allowed him to keep it for his bravery during the time of darkness. Again, he shook memories away.

"What about resources?" asked Zephynn, "I have three right here."

"You know as well as I do the disadvantages you would be at with only one wind at your side as you travel," said Phyra, "This quest is a quest to gain use the other three winds in order to use them to your advantage." Zephynn was taken aback. He remembered battling Dark Pit of the Dark Alliance two years back and being subdued by his own element. He had realized that if had been able to control all four winds, he might have had an easier time. He had talked to Boreas about it once or twice, but he had denied it ever happening later; how could a child of the west wind ever use any of the other three? But now here the offer was, in the form of a quest.

"How will this work?" asked Zephynn, "You're all here right now. Why don't you just give me the ability to use the rest of the winds?"

"One does not simply give up some of their power to an insignificant being such as yourself," Europa stated, "Unless they're forced to…" She shot a nasty glare at Norulus, who seemed to be ignoring the conversation, "…or they see someone who has proved themselves worthy of the power."

"What she means is, you must prove yourself before you receive any sort of power," said Boreas, "You've proved that you could be a warrior already. That's why your mother allowed you to keep the west wind ring. Now you must prove yourself to all of us." There were a few moments of silence.

"So?" said Boreas, "Will you accept this quest?" Zephynn looked at him suspiciously.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Zephynn inquired.

"Just answer the question boy!" Boreas boomed. Zephynn, startled, quickly gave his answer.

"I will accept," he said clearly. The tension in the room died down.

"Very well," said Boreas, "You will leave the first thing tomorrow morning. I will explain the object of the quest to you in more detail then." He walked over to Norulus and grabbed the south wind god's hand. Wind blew through the room wildly and both of them vanished. Europa shook her head as she looked at Zephynn disapprovingly. She too vanished into wind. Phyra alone remained. Zephynn saw a tear splash to the floor.

"Mother…" said Zephynn.

"I'm so afraid to let you go…" Phyra said sadly. Zephynn walked over to his mother and hugged her.

"It's alright," said Zephynn, "I've grown from who I was. I've become a fighter." His mother looked him in the eye.

"Look, you agreed to issue me this quest," said Zephynn, "I know that means you have faith that I will survive. So don't worry. Hold onto hope. Besides, the monster attacks out there aren't as organized as they were back in the time of darkness anyways."

"It's not them I'm worried about," said Phyra, drying her tears. Zephynn looked at her with a look of confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Zephynn asked.

"That I cannot say," Phyra answered, "I have more business to attend to. Go to bed on time. Boreas doesn't take too kindly to stragglers." With that, she vanished into the winds, leaving Zephynn to wonder what could possibly be going on and why this sudden change in the wind had occurred.

* * *

**A/N: This is a note to those of you who didn't read the summary (though I assume most of you did). This is an OC-centric fic. Kid Icarus, and more prominently Mystery of the Somewhat Staff, will be more referenced than actually represented. Main characters from the actually series are not likely to appear (I don't really have any plans to introduce them into the story either). I highly suggest reading Mystery of the Somewhat Staff and Dark Triad before continuing any further with this story. You don't have to, but references that I make to them will be plenty throughout. **

**I own nothing from Kid Icarus. All belongs to Nintendo. **


	2. Troubles Brewing

Chapter 2: Troubles Brewing

Zephynn found Boreas at the top of the cliff overlooking the West Wind Temple the next morning. The god of the north wind nodded approvingly. Zephynn was about five minutes early.

"Good morning nephew of mine," said Boreas. Zephynn nodded his head in greeting. He walked up to Norulus's side. They looked north.

"This is your quest objective," said Boreas, "Each of us three has set up a trial for you to face in each of our respective domains. Your goal is to find these trials and complete them without assistance."

"Trials?" Zephynn asked.

"Yes," said Boreas, "You heard me. You will find each one and complete them. Is that not clear?"

"It is very clear," said Zephynn in confirmation.

"Good" said Boreas, "And if you can complete these trials, Europa, Norulus, and I will grant you some of our power." Zephynn looked at Boreas suspiciously.

"Norulus agreed to this?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes," said Boreas simply, though not very convincingly, "Now go on! You have a destiny awaiting you!" Boreas vanished into a gust of cold wind. Zephynn folded his arms and shook his head. Yet even though he had doubts on his mind, he began northwards into this new journey ahead of him.

* * *

By the time the sun was getting ready to set, Zephynn was past Vagrant City, in which he had stopped for a few hours to stock up on supplies for what he expected to be a long journey, and into the hills to its north. He shuddered as he passed a specific one. Memories began to return to him again. He forced them down. But then he thought about the night that would arrive soon, so he allowed his memories of the journey to return for him for a few moments. They told him that he could find refuge just a few miles to the east. He veered that direction.

As the sun sank beneath the western horizon, he saw a temple of some sort just about a mile away from him. He walked onto its grounds twenty minutes later.

The night overtook him as he walked up to the door of the temple. He remembered it as a temple to Palutena. It was where he and his friends had met the Oracle of Palutena. He rapped on the door as loudly as he could. Nobody answered. He knocked again. Still no answer. He began to shiver in the cold night.

"Hello?" he called. He knocked. No answer came. After a few more minutes, he raised his hand and blasted the door with wind. It flew open. Zephynn walked inside and shut the door behind him. He looked around. The temple looked as it had the last time he was there. In the center of this large, main room was a fire pit. Statues and monuments to Palutena were scattered everywhere. Large, ornate pillars flanked the ceiling.

As he walked further into the room, he heard a voice echoing throughout the room.

"A darkness darker than any other will come upon us… it will catch us by surprise… it will destroy us… it will wring our souls until there is nothing left... and it will ruin the world before it can be defeated…" Zephynn stopped in his tracks. Suddenly, the fire pit in the center of the room burst into a huge fit of purple flames. Behind the flames, he could make out a shadowy figure. It was the shape of the Oracle. He walked around the flames quickly to get a better view.

Her eyes were glazed over as she stared into the flames. Her fists were clenched and she was on her knees. She looked as though she had been stabbed in the back. Then, suddenly, just as it had started, the fire disappeared and the Oracle fell on her side. Zephynn hurried over to help her up.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" he asked. The Oracle twitched a few times. For a few seconds, he thought she was dead.

"Of course I'm alright!" she yelled suddenly. Zephynn jumped back. She climbed to her feet and squinted at him.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"M-my name is Zephynn," said Zephynn, "Don't you recognize me?" Her gaze softened.

"Oh yes," she said, "That one kid who… who was with that angel Pit two years ago! Yes, that's right!" Zephynn nodded.

"Well then, what do you want?" asked the Oracle.

"Just shelter for the night," said Zephynn.

"Oh, okay," said the Oracle, "How long have you been around here by the way?"

"A couple minutes," Zephynn replied.

"Do you have any clue what I was just saying?" the Oracle asked.

"You… couldn't hear yourself?" Zephynn asked.

"Of course not," said the Oracle, "Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't. It's as simple as that."

"Something about darkness and destroying things and all of that," said Zephynn.

"Oh, alright," said the Oracle, "Just wondering." Zephynn then realized that the words that she had been saying were quite dark. He opened his mouth to speak, but she spoke before he could.

"You must be starved. There's extra meat left in the kitchen from my dinner," said the Oracle, "You remember where the kitchen is right? Good. And I'm sure you remember where the bedrooms are." Zephynn was then escorted by the Oracle out of the big room before he could protest.

* * *

Zephynn woke up the next morning to the smell of breakfast cooking. He quickly got out of bed, dressed and equipped himself, and walked out into the hallway, following his nose towards the kitchen. He couldn't wait to get another taste of this crazy old lady's cooking; one had to be really lucky to do so. He wasn't disappointed. He had a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes. It was uncomfortable with the Oracle staring at him the whole time as he ate, but he was satisfied.

As he got up from the table to head back into the main room, the Oracle stopped him.

"Aren't you going to ask for my help?" she asked.

"Do I need to?" Zephynn asked in response, "You've done plenty. I thank you for your hospitality."

"No, I mean, don't you want a foresight of events to come?" the Oracle asked. Zephynn thought about the question for a few moments. It would be useful to have an idea of what might happen in the future.

"Eh, why not," said Zephynn. The Oracle led him into the big room and they both knelt down at her fire pit.

"Now, you are questing again are you not?" she asked. Zephynn nodded and looked down at the fire pit. He shuddered as he remembered the words she had spoken by it the previous night.

"Well then, you can either have me answer a specific question about the quest or have me give a generalization of the future," she said.

"The latter," Zephynn said immediately. While he did have questions about the quest and its true purpose, he figured he would learn the answers later. The Oracle focused her eyes on the fire pit. For a few minutes she didn't say anything. Then, suddenly, her eyes shot up at Zephynn.

"_There will be a girl that you will fall in love with. But your fears will torture you. You will be eaten from the inside out with grief for you won't be able to approach her with your desires._" Her voice changed to a very harsh tone and sounded far more masculine as she said those words. The voice sounded awfully familiar to Zephynn. The words made him wonder as well. He felt as though he had heard them before, but he couldn't put a finger on where.

The Oracle's eyes returned to normal.

"What did I miss?" she asked. Zephynn didn't answer. He was too busy thinking about those words. His thinking led him to shudder. It was true that he had a fear of women, which was instigated by the arguments of the goddesses around him, namely his mother, Europa, and Viridi, the latter two which disliked him anyways. He shuddered at the thought of falling in love deeply with a woman. He knew the fact was true; that if he fell in love, he wouldn't be able to bring himself to even speak to the girl he was in love with. His fears would be magnified.

"Well?" the Oracle questioned. Zephynn snapped out of his little trance.

"What?" he said.

"Was my advice helpful?" she asked.

"Oh, yes," said Zephynn quickly, "Thank you." She nodded.

"Any time," she said. With that, Zephynn exited the temple, troubling thoughts still on his mind. As he walked along further north, he began to worry that troubles would come far earlier in the quest than he could ever expect. But those thoughts were put out of his mind about ten minutes of walking later, as suddenly he was knocked to the ground by something. The something that knocked him to the ground bit his hand. Zephynn yelled out in pain. Whatever it was unclamped its jaws from his hand and ran off.

Zephynn pulled himself to his feet and investigated his hand. There were bite marks, but they weren't too serious. What was serious was that the ring that had been on his finger was missing. The second he noticed that, his head swiveled around. He saw a small creature disappearing over a hill to the north. Without further hesitation, he chased after it.


	3. Janice and Theseus

Chapter 3: Janice and Theseus

Zephynn lost track of the thing that had bit him after a few minutes of running. He stopped atop a hill and looked around frantically. He couldn't lose that ring. It was far too important to go missing. At that moment, he sighted a line of wagons heading north in the distance. He watched it move for a few moments. Then he saw a streak of blue run in between a few hills towards it. He pursued again.

He found himself near the caravan about ten minutes later. He bent over to catch his breath and then looked up. The back of the caravan was about fifty feet in front of him. He walked after it slowly. As he came in closer, he saw that someone was sitting inside of the back wagon. It was a girl with long, fiery red hair. She wore a green headband, a violet shirt and green pants, rather casual clothing for the time period, especially for a woman. A splash of blue lied across her lap. She seemed to be petting it.

As he came closer, he heard her saying:

"Oh Theseus, did you go off stealing things from travelers again?" she asked teasingly. She held up his ring in her hand.

"Hey!" he called. She turned her head towards him. Her eyes were crystal blue. He realized that he was taking in her appearance and remembered himself suddenly, dashing up to the back of the caravan.

"That's my ring," he said sincerely. She stared at him for a few seconds as he walked along behind the wagon.

"Oh," she said, "I'm sorry. Theseus here just loves to run off and steal things from people." She gestured to the blue streak in her lap. As he walked closer, he saw that it was a reptilian creature with blue scales. It had five small, aqua green horns on its head, two that bent outwards from the sides, and three that formed a crown like shape on its forehead. Its feet were webbed and the end of its tail had three aqua green spikes, two bending out from the side, and another jutting out from the end.

Zephynn's eyes then transfixed on its back. It had two small wings laid out in relaxation.

"A… dragon?" he questioned. The girl nodded.

"Yep," she said, "He's a baby right now. Come on inside here. The merchants won't mind." Zephynn stepped up and found a foothold on the bumper of the wagon. The girl helped him up. She happened to take notice of Temphoros.

"Is that a sword?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Zephynn.

"What's it for?" she asked.

"To protect myself," said Zephynn.

"So you're a mercenary?" she asked.

"Not quite," he said, "I'm on a quest right now."

"But that makes you a mercenary right?" she interjected.

"No, I'm not doing it for money," Zephynn said, getting a little annoyed with this girl's questions, "It's a quest to… to build up my strength."

"So you can become a mercenary?" she asked. Zephynn didn't bother answering the last question. He just sat down across from her and stared at his feet. There were a few minutes of silence.

"I never heard you say your name," she said.

"Why do you need to know?" asked Zephynn.

"Well," she started, "It's nice to meet new people." There were a few more moments of silence.

"Well?" she asked. Zephynn still didn't speak.

"Come on," she said, "It's like you don't have one or something the way you're acting!" Zephynn still didn't give her an answer. She made an exaggerated sigh.

"Oh alright," she said, "I'll tell you my name first. I'm Janice." Zephynn looked up at her. She was looking at him hopefully. He shook his head. She frowned.

"So?" she said.

"How about you just give me back the ring and I'll be on my way?" Zephynn said finally.

"Not until you tell me your name," said Janice.

"Do you not understand how important that ring is?" Zephynn asked seriously, "It is a necessity for my quest."

"Then you'll tell me your name if you want it that bad," said Janice with finality.

"Why is it so important that you know my name?" asked Zephynn.

"Why is it so important that you have this ring?" Janice responded.

"I don't have time for this!" Zephynn began to rage.

"Then tell me your name," said Janice.

"My name is Zephynn!" he yelled. Suddenly, with that exclamation, he felt himself return to the timid version of himself that usually came out when he was around women. Deep inside, he wondered why he hadn't felt that part of himself when he had first met Janice a few minutes before. Perhaps she had finally gotten into his head.

"Well," she said with a light smile, "I guess you really do want your ring back… Zephynn." She said his name with a bit of pizazz. Theseus, who had been minding his own business in her lap and ignoring the conversation, looked up at him and swished his tail.

"So… this quest of yours," she started in a more polite tone, "Do you need any help with it?" Zephynn remembered Boreas's warning; he could not have assistance in completing the trials set out before him. His mind suddenly found a loophole rather quickly; Boreas had said he could not have help with the trials specifically. He didn't say anything about getting help with anything else.

"Perhaps," he answered a little softly.

"Great!" she exclaimed Theseus climbing up to her shoulder as she stood up abruptly, "Sign me up!" Zephynn was taken aback.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said, "What do you get out of this?"

"I have my reasons," she said, "Maybe I just feel like being a good citizen and helping a fellow out." Zephynn looked at her with confusion.

"What?" she said, clearly getting annoyed, "Is that not reason enough to help?"

"How are you going to help me?" he asked, "What can you do?"

"Well…" she started. She didn't continue.

"Nothing," Zephynn concluded, "Nothing except being dead weight." Janice suddenly socked him across the face. Zephynn suddenly felt as though he shrunk down several sizes.

"FYI, dork," she said, "I can do plenty. I'll have you know, I was taught by the best fighters in the streets of Bernus down south. I can hold my own in a fight." Zephynn had shrunk into his seat. Both Janice and Theseus glared at him intensely. His phobia was killing him. Finally he caved in.

"Alright," he said ever so timidly, "You can come along with me."

"Yes!" Janice cheered, "Theseus, we are in business!" The little dragon snorted in agreement. Zephynn shook his head in disbelief. He stood up from his seat on shaky legs.

"So, where to Zephynn?" she asked.

"We're not leaving this caravan until you have a weapon," said Zephynn.

"Pfft," said Janice, "That's easy." She walked over to a nearby crate and popped off its lid. Out of it, she pulled a standard, lightweight sword in its sheath.

"Think you can beat me in a swordfight?" she asked, unsheathing the sword and swinging it around discretely. Zephynn pulled Temphoros from its sheath and spun it around between his hands a few times. Then he sliced through the air expertly, sending a powerful blast of wind straight at Janice's face. Her hair was blown back and Theseus was almost knocked off of her shoulder.

"Yep," he said. He sheathed Temphoros and turned to leave the caravan. He motioned for her to follow him. He jumped off of the back of the caravan and landed walking. She hit the ground behind him and stumbled, falling face-first into the grass.

"Come on," he said, turning around to help her up. As he did so, he thought he saw something on the back of the caravan. Or someone. He saw a figure with a black cloak, hood over their head. A dark sword hung at the figure's side. The figure seemed to be staring at him. He shuddered, but then the figure retreated into the caravan and vanished. Zephynn shook his head. He didn't even notice that Janice was off of the ground.

"What are you looking at?" she asked. He snapped out of his thoughts.

"Nothing," he said. He took in his surroundings now. The caravan had carried them perhaps a quarter of a mile north of where he had gotten on. They were nearing the wastelands in which Pallitia Town was based. Zephynn could clearly see the mountains in the distance. His memories began to creep into his mind, but he ignored them. Deciding he didn't want to deal with mountains at this point he turned to the east.

"Let's go," he said. With that, he and his new travelling buddies began to move eastward. He could only hope that they were headed in the right direction, and that he would be able to survive with this girl named Janice and her little dragon Theseus travelling by his side.


	4. Surprise Attack

Chapter 4: Surprise Attack

Zephynn started regretting his decision to allow Janice at his side almost immediately after they had taken the first steps away from the caravan. The girl would not stop talking. She rambled on about her training and skillset. He was sick of listening to her talk, and had stopped listening to her after about five minutes. Zephynn was tempted to stab her and be done with it right then and there. But Zephynn was Zephynn; a young man with enough experience to know that stabbing someone can greatly affect one's mental stability. And Zephynn certainly wished to keep his mental stability as it was, so he kept his cool.

He chose to lead the talkative Janice and her little dragon Theseus northeast in order to avoid the forest that they were headed towards. They now walked along the foot of the mountain range. They were a few miles away from the outer edge of the shoreline when the sun left them. They stopped where they were and pitched camp.

"Don't you think it would be safer if we just found a town?" Janice asked.

"I don't have any money on me," said Zephynn, "We'd be sleeping on the cold hard streets instead of the softer ground."

"Well if you're going think that way, why don't we go into the forest?" Janice asked, Theseus curling up in her lap. Zephynn shook his head.

"You don't want to know what is in that forest," said Zephynn, "Trust me, I know, and I don't want to remember it."

"What happened?" Janice followed up quickly. Zephynn didn't respond.

"Come on, don't do this again," said Janice, "It's not going to do you any good to bottle it up. That's what the boss said to me anyways." Zephynn continued his little silent treatment.

"Fine, be that way," said Janice, "I didn't want to know anyways." She crossed her arms. A few moments passed. Neither of them said anything.

"Come on, please!" Janice pleaded. Zephynn still didn't respond. Theseus snored a little in her lap. Janice's brow furrowed. She petted her little dragon on the back and then lifted him off of her lap. Then she stood up and walked over to Zephynn, proceeding to give him a large smack across the back of his head. Zephynn fell to the ground.

"Tell me what happened!" Janice demanded. Zephynn couldn't contain his emotions. He got up to his feet and turned around to her, tears almost streaming from his eyes.

"You want to know!?" he almost yelled, "I'll tell you! I was in that forest when hundreds of people were killed at the hands of monsters! My sister... friend! Was almost trapped in an eternal sleep by the river that flows through that cursed land! Do I need to list anymore reasons that that forest will not be entered unless dire circumstances arise!?" Janice was startled. Zephynn receded to a sitting position and began to cry from the overwhelming memories. Theseus woke up and stared at them worriedly. He scurried to climb to Janice's shoulder.

"I… I'm sorry…" said Janice, "I didn't mean to…" She couldn't find her words. She had no idea how emotionally scarred he must have been from going into that forest. She sat down with him. He turned away from her.

"Look, I'm sorry," she said, "It's a force of habit. I always want to know things. That's how I was raised." Zephynn kept on crying. Janice gave up for once. She looked to Theseus on her shoulder.

"I've really done it this time haven't I," she said. Theseus snorted. At that moment, the breeze stopped blowing. There was a piercing screech through the night. Zephynn looked up. Janice's heart began to race. Theseus shrank into her shoulder. The screech echoed through the darkness again. Janice reached for the small sword at her side and drew it. Zephynn continued to look around for the cause of the sound. Then, out of the darkness came a group of about twenty Monoeyes heading straight for them.

Zephynn shot up to his feet. His sword was out of its sheath immediately. He blasted three of them with one stroke of his sword. The rest continued to charge at them. Seeing as how his warning strike had failed, Zephynn prepared to swing his sword and take all of them out at once. Then, out of nowhere, Janice ran in front of him.

"Come and get it monsters!" she yelled. Zephynn had no time to react. Janice was suddenly struck by two bolts of purple energy from the oncoming Monoeyes. She was knocked back into Zephynn. Her sword flew into the air and into the forest. Zephynn found her in his arms. He gently laid her on the ground as the Monoeyes surrounded him. He spun Temphoros in his hand and watched as each Monoeye prepared a bolt of purple energy.

He shut his eyes and let his power flow. He let his body draw power from the ring. He transferred that power through his body to his sword hand. The power entered his sword. His eyes opened, glowing from the power he was about to release. He swung his sword horizontally, then vertically, and finally diagonally. Three blades of wind were created. All of the Monoeyes were destroyed by the blast.

Zephynn felt a wave of exhaustion come over him. He had used a bit too much power, more than he was used to anyways. He felt something nip at his leg. Looking down, he saw that it was Theseus. The dragon directed him towards Janice, who was lying on the ground unconscious. Zephynn knelt down by her side and observed the damage done. Her shirt had been torn at the stomach by one of the blows, which had left a nasty bruise. The other one had hit her arm. He waited a few moments for his strength to recover before making an attempt to pick her up. However, he was stopped by another screech.

He turned around and squinted into the night. He stood up, readying Temphoros for anything. As he did this, a red light popped up on the mountainside. Zephynn almost dropped his sword. Another screech rang out. Two more red lights appeared above that red light. He quickly decided that the distance between him and red lights was too small and immediately sheathed Temphoros and picked Janice up. He used his head to motion Theseus onto his shoulder, a motion to which the dragon complied. With that done, he ran into the forest, seeing no other option given the current circumstances.

* * *

Zephynn ran for several minutes before stopping to catch his breath. The screeching had become distant by the time he had stopped. He observed Janice's wounds again. Looking at the bruise on her arm, he decided that it was broken, given the swelling that was occurring there. He needed to find someone who could heal her quickly. As soon as his breath returned, he began to walk through the forest again. He shivered in the cold of the night and at the memories of being in this forest, all bad ones. There was one memory however that provided a ray of hope for him, that being the memory of the Temple of Hecate. If he could find it, he could perhaps find a remedy for Janice's wounds.

His thoughts went to why he was helping her. She had been a pain in his side all day. She was turning out to be exactly what he had thought; dead weight. And yet here he was, making an attempt to help her out. Perhaps it was the natural good his previous journey had rubbed off on him. He shook off the memories again.

He tried to get a sense of where he was going using the winds. He released some power from his ring. The winds from the ring blew forward. That meant he was heading east. He continued on in that direction. About an hour later (or so he estimated) he spotted a structure through the trees. He hurriedly walked towards it, emerging into a clearing that hosted a temple. He approached the steps cautiously and slowly walked towards the temple entrance.

As he entered, the books, floating around as they usually did, froze in place to stare at the visitor. Zephynn continued into the temple, expecting that at any moment, Fauna would appear from nowhere and begin asking questions. However, instead of what he expected, he heard a deeper more hearty voice.

"Well then, no need to be shy!" it exclaimed, "Come right on in." Zephynn looked around. Then, as if from nowhere, a man with brown hair, covered by a wide-brimmed pointy hat came walking towards him from the interior of the temple. His eyes were brown and a majority of his attire, from his cloak to his cape, was gray. His collar was high. A book was tucked under his arm.

"You're… um…"

"Well you're Zephynn, son of the West Wind goddess, Phyra," said the man, "I know that much. I don't blame you for not knowing my name. We never really got acquainted after I was turned back…"

"Ah, I remember now," said Zephynn, "Ladon right?" The man nodded.

"Son of Hecate at your service," said Ladon, "Of course, I have other occupations to keep myself busy…"

"I've heard," said Zephynn, "The Dark Alliance's prowess as a mercenary group is known all throughout the realm." Ladon nodded.

"And I am its tactician," said Ladon, "I'm just dropping by here to gather a few books for the library. What brings you here?" Zephynn looked down at the girl in his arms. Theseus mimicked the motion with sadder eyes.

"Oh," said Ladon, his smile fading, "She got hurt?"

"There was a little skirmish," said Zephynn. Ladon's straight face turned to a frown.

"I see…" said Ladon, "Healing isn't my biggest thing, but I can do it. It might be rusty though."

"If it works, it works," said Zephynn. They took Janice to the back of the room and laid her on the bed. Zephynn shook the strange memories of this spot out of his mind. He preferred not to remember them. Ladon put the book he was holding aside and observed Janice's wounds. His expression brightened a little.

"Well, it's not the worst I've seen," said Ladon, "Here we go." He began to mumble a few words under his breath. He reached his hand out over Janice and began to wave it around. He moved it closer to her arm. Red energy flowed from his hand and into her arm. The bruise slowly disappeared. He moved it to her stomach. The same thing happened. He opened his eyes once had finished… and almost fell over.

Zephynn ran to help him but he caught his balance.

"Yes," said Ladon, breathing heavily, "It has definitely been a while since I've used that ability."

"Is she healed?" Zephynn asked.

"I reckon so," said Ladon, "The healing took a lot out of me. Just don't be surprised if she grows a third arm or something."

"You're kidding right?" Zephynn asked.

"Nah," said Ladon, "It can happen. But it's a rare occurrence. Anyways, I have to be going. Feel free to stay as long as you like. Fauna is on vacation right now so Flora has taken charge."

"Flora?" Zephynn asked.

"Another magic spirit," said Ladon, "She's a lot nicer and less hostile to strangers than Fauna. I'm sure you remember…"

"Yep," said Zephynn, "Thank you."

"No problem," said Ladon. He turned to leave but then he paused.

"If... you happen to still be around when she shows up, tell Flora I said hi," he said. Zephynn swore he saw a tinge of blush on Ladon's cheeks.

"O… kay…" said Zephynn. Ladon continued walking. Zephynn watched him go until he seemed to vanish at the temple opening.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's taken so long. I lost any motivation to write due to music and video games… Hopefully I'll be able to get back to a regular writing pattern. I'm not making any promises though. Please leave a review! Thanks for reading! :D**


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